Unlikely Ally
by PotCFan101
Summary: Set right after 4x04. In the wake of their adventure at Camp Ogawa, Constantine's health is rapidly declining. Nothing will help him, and Ray knows that only magic can save him. Out of options, and with the rest of the Legends off to fight a new fugitive in 1950s Tokyo, Ray sets out to find the one person who could help save John's life. Rated T just to be safe.


"I think I know someone who can help, but I have no idea how to find her." Ray Palmer said to Sara. Their latest mission at Lake Ogawa summer camp didn't leave the team unscathed, as John Constantine had sacrificed part of his life force to save a young kid from dying. Now that they were back, nothing was helping, and his body was even rejecting Gideon's medications.

"Ray, you're the smartest person on this ship. You have an IQ over 140, designed and built the Atom suit, and you turned Nate into a metahuman. If anyone can find Nora Darhk, it's you." Sara told him. "Do what you have to do, just make sure John doesn't die on us. We're going to need him to send all these fugitives to Hell."

* * *

"Just one final ingredient, I trust you'll find my potion is… magical." Nora finished stirring a pot of what appeared to be soup, before lifting the spoon up so the man in front of her, the one managing the fair could have a taste. As soon as the spoon left his lips, however, he coughed and sputtered, before spitting on the ground.

"You call that soup?" The man insulted, causing Nora to involuntarily shrink back in surprise.

"Oh, I- I can start over." Nora said quickly, taking off her hood and robe.

"The Ren Faire opens in an hour!" the man pointed out. "You know what, forget it. It's not like folks come to this tent for the food anyways."

"I'm sorry?" Nora asked, and her manager gave her a look that said, 'You don't know?'

"They come for the lusty wenches." the man spelled it out, with a slight eye roll. Nora made a disgusted and surprised smile, and held up her hood.

"I'm a witch." Nora reminded the man, showing her costume.

"Okay, well as long as it's a lusty witch, kay?" the man smirked, before walking away. Nora sulked, tossing her hood to a nearby chair, wondering what to do next. She could always use the time stone to go somewhere else, but that would no doubt alert the Time Bureau. One thing was for certain, she wouldn't stay here forever.

* * *

"Captain Lance, I'm sorry to interrupt, but I'm picking up another anachronism in 1951 Tokyo." Gideon's voice could be heard in the Waverider's halls. "There were reports of a giant creature attacking the city by sea."

"Chart a course." Sara barked, while she and the rest of the Legends strapped in.

Seconds later, the Waverider arrived in Tokyo, landing far enough from the city. Sara, Charlie, and Zari took a look outside, seeing a massive octopus like creature, with glowing red eyes, attacking the bay.

"Guys, we're gonna need a bigger timeship." Sara gulped.

"Or, make it smaller." Ray suggested, tossing her the Atom suit's gauntlet. "Here, I'm going to stay with Constantine."

"Just find a way to save him." Sara ordered, and the rest of the Legends left to fight off the fugitive. With no time to lose, Ray went over to Constantine's room, grabbed one of the occultist's spellbooks, and headed to the medbay to keep John company. Once he got there, John was fast asleep, most likely from all the painkillers Gideon was putting in his system.

"Gideon, how's Constantine doing?" Ray asked, cracking open the book.

"Not well." The ship's AI said plainly. "If anything, his body is getting worse, forcing me to up the pain medication."

"Keep him on there a little while longer." Ray ordered, flipping through pages. "This book doesn't seem to have a tracking spell…" Something in Ray's mind clicked. "Gideon, can you pinpoint the temporal energy readings from the time stone?"

"Of course, Doctor Palmer." Gideon answered. "After you had me scan the stone, it should be easy to find its unique signature."

"Filter out all known readings until the last four months." Ray requested, exiting the medbay.

"It appears the last known location of the time stone's energy was in Star City, 2018." Gideon announced, before adding, "Hmm, that's odd."

"What's odd?" Ray asked.

"That was four months ago. If Miss Darhk moved anywhere else, it wasn't with the time stone." Gideon informed. "However, she has stayed in the city since then, as security footage found a person matching Miss Darhk's description at a Renaissance Faire just today."

"Thanks Gideon." Ray said cheerfully, and headed towards the jumpship, stopping to pick up a costume from the fabrication room.

* * *

Nora scooped some soup into a bowl and handed it to one of the 'tourists', painfully watching as he took a single spoonful and just as quickly spat it out, narrowly missing her robe.

"Gross!" the guy said, recoiling from the taste. "What the Hell did you put in there?" As the man shuffled off, the one managing the fair came over, now wearing a Robin Hood-esque costume.

"You didn't fix it?" the bearded man asked, clearly irritated.

"I tried starting over." Nora quickly told him. "I just… ran out of time."

"Maybe you should start mingling." the manager grinned. "You'd definitely catch someone's eye."

"I'd prefer to stay here." Nora tried to sound confident, but even she could tell her voice was stuttering.

"When I tell you to do something, you do it." the man ordered, moving uncomfortably close, and causing Nora's fingers to twitch. "So get out and start acting like the other wenches." Just as she was about to push the festival's manager back with magic, she heard a familiar voice in the crowd.

"That's no way to treat a lady." the manager turned around, seeing a man around his age in front of him, having jet black hair and wearing knight's armor. After looking at him up and down, Nora's manager laughed.

"See, now that's a good costume!" the manager complimented. "Who are you supposed to be? Arthur? Lancelot? Galahad?"

"Sir Raymond of the Palms." the man in knight armor said proudly. "And you shouldn't talk to her like that."

"Who are you, her husband?" the manager asked, raising an eyebrow. Ray looked at Nora for a second, before speaking.

"Uh, yes?" Ray squeaked out.

"Heh, cut the crap." Nora's manager snorted. "You suck at lying." The man in the Robin Hood costume turned around and moved closer to Nora, but Ray stepped in.

"Hey!" Palmer shouted, grabbing the man's shoulder. The festival manager quickly turned around, attempting to throw a punch, but Ray swiftly ducked and delieverd a right hook, sending the other man sprawling into Nora's table and causing the soup to fly everywhere. Given that the tent was more or less packed, and no one knew what happened, the next few moments became chaos, with everyone engaging in a brawl. Ray quickly grabbed Nora's hand and the two fought their way out with punches and kicks, eventually making it out of the festival.

"Well, that felt like old times." Ray panted, but grinned nevertheless. "Except that we're not in Berlin. And we're not in 1962…"

"What are you doing here, Ray?" Nora asked, clearly annoyed. "I didn't need your help." Ray looked at her quizzically, before opening his mouth.

"Can we talk?" Ray asked. "I need your help."

* * *

Ray and Nora sat at a table in SC Jitters, having just gotten their cups of coffee.

"All the places you could have gone, and you chose the Renaissance Faire?" Ray asked, confused. "I'm not judging in anyway. I just didn't think you'd be likely to be there."

"How'd you find me?" Nora asked, drinking her coffee. She made sure to order an extra dark, with whipped cream and caramel sauce.

"Before I gave you the time stone, I might've had the Waverider's AI scan it." Ray said sheepishly, looking down at the table.

"And you didn't look for me until now?" Nora scoffed.

"The Legends have been a bit busy." Ray explained. "After fixing all the anachronisms, we found out that Mallus wasn't the only thing let out of that prison."

"So you're asking me to help with that?" Nora asked, continuing to drink her coffee.

"Not exactly." Ray told her. "We already have someone who knows about these magical creatures. You remember John Constantine?"

"How could I not?" Nora muttered. "He tried to exorcise Mallus from me."

"Anyway, we recently battled a Styga, and John sacrificed some of his life force to save a kid." Ray recounted the latest adventure. "Nothing has been able to help him. I was hoping you could."

"Do the other Legends know you're asking me?" Nora asked, drumming her fingers on the table.

"Sara's figured it out by now." Ray sighed. "Besides, the rest of the team is fighting off what I think is the Kraken in Tokyo, 1951."

"Say I do help you." Nora mulled the thought over. "What happens after? I'll go back to the Time Bureau's prison?"

"I swear, I won't let that happen." Ray promised. "But please. We need your help." Nora looked at Ray, who's eyes seemed to be pleading with her, and she sighed, pulling out the timestone.

"Alright, let's go."

"Wait!" Ray shouted, and quickly threw down cash. "Coffee's on me." Nora smirked at Palmer being considerate, and with that, the time stone glowed, and the two were engulfed in a bright orange light.

* * *

The light faded, and Ray saw that he and Nora were back on the Waverider, apparently also being the only ones on there.

"Welcome back, Doctor Palmer." Gideon's voice could be heard. "I see you have brought Miss Darhk with you."

"Where is he?" Nora asked.

"I am assuming you are meaning Mister Constantine." Gideon interrupted Ray before he opened his mouth. "He is in the medbay, and the treatments I have attempted have not worked." Within seconds, Nora and Ray made it to the medbay, finding Constantine lying in a chair.

"Oh God, you brought her along?" John asked, apparently having woken up and was groggy. "What the bloody Hell did I tell you, Palmer?"

"Listen, she's here to help." Ray told the Brit, before turning to Nora. "Tell me what you need."

"You said he gave up some of his life force, right?" Nora asked. Once Ray nodded, she added, "I just need him to hold still."

"Gideon, up his dose." Ray barked, and Constantine was back to sleep in an instant. "What're you going to do?"

"I'll have to transfer some of my own life force into him." Nora replied, shifting her hands to either side of the demonologist head.

"Can't we just find his life source and return it?" Ray asked.

"Unless you want to pull it out of that kid you mentioned, no." Nora answered. "Magic always has a price."

"But you could end up like John is now!" Ray pointed out.

"Maybe not." Nora mumbled. "I've absorbed life forces before, so hopefully I won't be affected much."

"You sure this'll work?" Ray inquired. Nora looked back at Palmer and took a deep breath.

"Nope." Darhk admitted, before turning back to Constantine and began chanting. " _Exmo Tu, Elementorum. Inhunke Mundone Ebone!_ " As she was chanting the spell, a silver vapor protruded from Nora's face and entered Constantine, while Ray watched with uncertainty. A few seconds later, John's eyes snapped open, and Nora fell to the ground.

"Hey, hey." Ray helped Darhk back up. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Nora shrugged Ray off. "At least my hunch worked.

"Ah, bloody Hell…" Constantine groaned, and Ray quickly told Gideon to sedate the occultist. Once John was knocked out, Ray turned his attention back to Nora.

"Thank you for saving Constantine." Palmer told her.

"Eh, you needed my help, and you saved me from Mallus." Nora shrugged, pulling out the time stone. "Call it even." Before Nora could even think about where to go, Ray snatched the obsidian stone away.

"Give it back." Nora demanded, holding out her hand, but Ray kept the stone away. "Don't make me force you."

"I know you won't hurt me, Nora." Ray responded, sounding more confident than usual. "Deep down, you're a good person. You just proved it now."

"I was just repaying you." Nora snapped. "Now give me my time stone back!"

"Where will you go?" Ray pointed out. "You can't go back to the Ren Faire."

"I'll figure something out." Nora said casually. "Please. I have to do this on my own." Ray looked at Nora with a pained expression, then, reluctantly, he gave her the time stone.

"Will I ever see you again? Ray asked glumly.

"Of course you will." Nora smirked. "In time." Nora leaned in and gave Ray a small kiss on the cheek, before the time stone glowed, and she was gone. Just as Darhk left, Constantine woke up.

"I just had the mother of all hangovers." John grunted, looking at Ray. "Where'd Nora go?"

"She had to leave." Ray told the occultist. "She has to figure out her own path."

"All fine and dandy, mate." Constantine shrugged, pulling out a cigarette. "I told you, people like her and me are bad news for you. It's why I usually work alone."

"If Mister Constantine is alright, the rest of the Legends could use your help." Gideon announced. "The team is still struggling with their fugitive."

"You heard the lady." Constantine muttered. "Let's send this monster to Hell." Ray nodded, donning his Atom suit, while Ray put on his trenchcoat, and together, they left the Waverider to help the Legends.


End file.
